Healed
by Fanfiction Ninja
Summary: Entry for floridapanther28's facial features contest. "Those eyes still haunt me at night, the memory too overwhelming to leave my scarred mind."


**Hey Guys! It's Fanfiction Ninja! So, on floridapanther's "sweet revenge" forum, she has a facial features contest, and I chose eyes! **

**I worked pretty hard on this, I hope you enjoy! :D**

**Disclaimer: All rightful characters and games belong to Natsume, not me.**

**Oh, by the way, Chase is very OOC at the beginning. But it's very relevant to the plot and you'll see why.**

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><p>I was talking to Kathy after the bar closed with a smile on her face. Well, not exactly. My name is Molly Wilson. You see, I haven't been able to talk in a long time. In other words, I'm what you would call "mute." I just haven't been able to utter a single word in years. Instead, I communicate with people on a chalkboard, and show emotion through my eyes, something good that I've gotten at over the years.<p>

Anyways, I was 'talking' with Kathy, when she left to get some things for me (my house was still being built, so I was sharing a room with Kathy.)

Right after she left, Maya and someone else barged into the Sundae Inn/Bar.

"Maya! Would you just leave me alone already?" the man yelled at Maya, the daughter of Jake and Colleen.

"B-But," Maya wailed. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

"You are so annoying! Just leave Maya!" The man yelled.

"Wah! You're so mean!" Maya cried, running up to her room.

Unfortunately, the man also stormed away. Except he ended up storming right into me.

"OW! Oh, sorry!" he said.

I blinked, still on the floor, not able to respond.

He helped me up, and my light brown eyes scanned over him. He was fairly tall, wearing black pants, and a button-up white shirt with its sleeves rolled up. He had a blue/gray apron over his clothes, with a matching color of his sandals. As far as facial features, the man's were interesting, like many people on Waffle Island. He had peach- colored hair held back with bobby pins. When my eyes finally wandered to his, I was startled to see beautiful violet eyes.

"Excuse me?" the man said, waving a hand in front of my face. "I'm Chase. Who are you?"

I walked away from him. Where did my chalkboard go?

"_Excuse _me!" Chase said. "I was talking to you! You can't just walk out of a conversation like that!"

Not able to respond, I continued to look for my chalkboard. When I was still looking, Chase roughly pulled me by my shoulder to face him.

"Do you think that you're too good to respond to others?" He demanded. I shook my head frantically, my eyes wide.

"See?" He exclaimed. "You still aren't responding! Do you think that you're cool? Because right now, you're acting like a spoiled kid!" **(1)**

"…" Tears started running down my cheeks. I was frightened, and not able to say anything.

"Molly!" Kathy called, coming back in. "I got your-"she stopped abruptly, seeing Chase shaking me, who had tears running down my face.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?" Kathy shrieked.

Chase let go of me. "_This _smarty pants here thought she was so cool, so she didn't respond to me when I was just asking her name! She just walked around and ignored me!"

Kathy smacked his face. "YOU IDIOT! MOLLY ISN'T ABLE TO SPEAK!"

Chase's violet eyes widened in surprise. "S-She isn't?"

"NO! SHE'S NOT ABLE TO! SHE WAS PROBABLY LOOKING FOR HER CHALK BOARD-WHICH I HAD-SO SHE COULD TALK TO YOU!"

Sometime during Kathy's rant, I silently slipped away. In her room, I saw that she had kindly set up an extra mattress next to her bed, with blankets and pillows. I changed into my sweatpants and tank top, and then climbed into my bed, falling asleep to the sound of Kathy's screaming voice.

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><p>"<em>You." My head snapped up at the sound of her voice talking to me. "What did I say about your chores? You forgot to make me dinner!"<em>

"_No," I pointed out. "I made some pasta."_

_Her red eyes glared down at me. Those eyes holding many emotions in them, none of them pleasant. There was coldness, hatred, loathing, and anger in those two eyes. _

"_Pasta? PASTA? I told you specifically that I wanted steak this morning!"_

"_N-No you didn't, I'm sorry!"_

"_You'll be sorry kid!" The hand came down so quickly, I didn't see it coming at all. In a second, I was on the cold ground, wincing in pain at the hit. _

"_I-I…" I looked up to see those cold red eyes. They watched me through the night, watching me cry and flinch in pain._

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><p>I sat up suddenly in bed, sweating and crying. <em>Those eyes. <em>I thought, shuddering. _They've come back to haunt me. _

"Hey Molly, are you awake now?" Kathy asked, knocking on the door. I silently got up and dressed, trying to calm my red face.

Kathy walked up to me, and placed a warm hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay from last night? I'm so sorry about Chase, he was tired and grouchy. I'm extremely sorry that you had to witness that yourself firsthand."

I showed her my chalkboard. _"It's okay. I've gone through worse."_

Kathy's eyes shifted from apologetic to curiosity. "About that, are you okay? Last night, you sounded like you were going through a tough time."

I avoided her eyes, but I wrote on the chalkboard nevertheless. "_It was just a little nightmare."_

"Okay…" Kathy said, not looking convinced, but moving on. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"_Pancakes would be good. I'll make them." _I wrote, grinning.

We headed into the kitchen, and I started to make pancakes.

"Hiya Molly!" Maya smiled at me. She put her hands over her mouth. "Wait, are you making pancakes?"

I nodded, and Maya squealed with delight. "AWESOME! I'LL HAVE, LIKE, ELEVENTY MILLION!"

I resisted the urge to face palm, and wrote on my board: _"How about only five?"_

"Yeah, that's good." Maya smiled.

I was up to twenty pancakes when I stopped, giving some food to everyone.

"Yum!" Maya chewed happily. "Hey, where's Chasie?"

Kathy shifted uncomfortably. "Maya, he lives in Maple Lake District, remember?"

As if he knew that we were talking about him, Chase himself entered the room.

"Hey. I'm here for my shift." He grumbled, with an-as Luke would say, EXTREME case of bedhead.

"Hey Chase! Have you ever owned a brush?" Kathy called over to him.

He glared in her direction. "Shut up Kathy." He said. "As you should know, I didn't exactly have a good night."

"Chasie!" Maya squealed, glomping him. "Want some pancakes? Molly made them!"

"…Molly?" He looked over at me, than quickly looked away.

"Come on Chase, eat!" Maya urged, shoving my pancakes in his face.

"No thanks Maya," he rejected. "I had some breakfast at my house."

Kathy slowly walked up to Chase. She nudged him with her elbow. "Chase…"

He grimaced, probably reminiscing his experience with Kathy this morning. "Okay, okay…"

Chase walked up to me, obviously forced. "Hey Molly, I'm sorry for what happened today. Uh, Erm, would you go to the beach with me later for lunch?"

I smiled and wrote on my board. "_Yeah, sure. That would be fun!"_

"Okay. See you at 12:00."

I walked outside, where Maya clutched my shoulder roughly. "Molly! Do you like Chase?"

I looked at her strangely. "_No. It was just a nice gesture. Why?"_

"Because…" She blushed, her baby blue eyes showing embarrassment. "I kind of like him."

"_Well, I don't really know him…" _I wrote.

"Great!" She smiled, and skipped back into the Sundae Inn.

I walked down to the beach to get a head start, even though I was an hour early. I was just staring at the unusually calm blue waves on the soft sand.

"Excuse me miss," A man's voice asked from behind me. I turned to see red eyes.

My eyes widened, and I had an urge to scream, but no sound would come out of my mouth, instead tears raced down my face. I scrambled up from my spot and ran, running from those haunting red eyes.

"Hey!" The voice said, following me. I ran farther, not watching where I was going. Before I knew it, I tasted salt water inside of my mouth. I swam around desperately, not being able to breathe at all. My eyesight was blurred by the water, but I faintly could see a pair of hands grabbing me and pulling me up to the surface.

I gasped for breath. I coughed water out, my eyes still watering.

"Molly! Are you just accident prone or something! I hope you're not like this every day!" I looked up to see Chase's sarcastic violet eyes peering down at me.

I reached for the chalkboard in his hands. "_Sorry. I just-" _

"No. I know what happened." Chase said, interrupting me when I was in the middle of writing. "Julius said that he started talking to you, and then you ran away.

I rubbed my neck sheepishly. _"Uh, can we just start our picnic?" _

He crossed his arms. I knew that he wanted an explanation, but I really didn't want to explain it right now. Instead of demanding an explanation though, he just raised his arms in defeat. "Sure. Why not."

We both walked in silence towards the beach, and then sat down.

"I hope you like sandwiches and orange juice, because that's what I brought."

I smiled. _"I love oranges!"_

His face twisted in surprise. "Really? They're my favorite fruit."

I nodded enthusiastically, taking a bite out of my sandwich.

He smiled genuinely at me. "Not many people I like enjoy oranges like me."

"_What about Maya?"_

"Well, I don't exactly count her into this, because she'll eat anything. And I mean _anything._"

I laughed. _"That's probably true."_

Chase looked thoughtful, his violet eyes showing curiosity. "I thought mute people couldn't laugh."

"_Well, it depends. If you're mute because you were born without vocal chords, than you cannot laugh. However, if you are mute for other reasons, but you still have your vocal chords, you might retrieve the ability to laugh. I have vocal chords, so I'm able to laugh. Sorry, I thought you knew." _I explained. **(2)**

He shook his head. "Nah, I shouldn't have asked. I like your laugh. It's very lovely."

I blushed, and ate more of my sandwich to cover up my red face.

But then that sandwich was gone, and I was at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry, but...do you mind being mute?" Chase asked me.

"_Wow, you're nosy, but I'll tell you. Chase, I have not felt the nice flow of words come from my mouth in a long time. Sure, I wish I could talk and communicate with others such as yourself, but the thing that matters most to me are my eyes. _

_Think, if these light brown eyes weren't able to see, I wouldn't know what you would look like. I wouldn't be able to look at the beautiful landscapes on Waffle Island, or even see your face. Yes, I wish I could talk, but I would rather be able to see your sarcastic face smiling down at me than to be able to talk. Yes, eyes can be a heavy burden sometimes, but in the end, they are truly a gift that we are all lucky to have."_ **(3)**

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><p><strong>Chase's POV<strong>

Wow, Molly was way wiser beyond her years, I mean, I'd never even thought what I would be without my eyes, but I guess being mute does make you think.

Being on the beach with Molly was more fun than I thought it would be. She was interesting, especially since she loved oranges!

I liked spending time with her, and felt really bad that I had frightened her so badly that same morning. What was I thinking?

"…Sorry for this morning." I apologized to Molly. "I was an idiot. A mindless idiot."

Molly shook her head and wrote on her board. "_It's okay. We're friends now, aren't we? I didn't take a lot of damage at all anyways."_

I smiled and ate my sandwich, content with how this went.

Molly suddenly stood up. "_I should get going." _She wrote. _"I don't want to keep you here for too long." _

Nodding, I stood up, packing away everything in my basket. "Bye Molly." I said shortly, giving her a wave and walking back to the Sundae Inn.

However, as I cooked for the Inn, and later the Bar, I could not get rid of the burning question I had in the back of my mind: Why had Molly run away from Julius so quickly, and did that have something to do with the "other reason" that she was mute?

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><p><em><strong>A few Seasons later…<strong>_**(4)**

I was whistling in the kitchen as I cooked lunch for hungry customers. I just felt happier now, and Kathy and I didn't get into as many fights anymore.

"Chase!" Maya called over to me, rushing over a bit more frantic than usual.

"What is it Maya?"

"Molly's sick."

"What?" I asked, turning off the oven.

"Molly. Is. Sick." Maya repeated, as if talking to a child. "She has a bad case of the flu."

I quickly put away what I was cooking immediately. "I'll bring her some leftover soup." I murmured to myself, quickly putting the soup into the thermos and heading out the door.

"…You really do care about her, don't you?" Maya said to me, stopping me in my tracks.

"Huh?" I said dumbly.

"Chase, you know somewhere in that thick head of yours that you care about her. It's not like you would rush like that for anyone else." Her baby blue eyes pierced my violet ones, feeling like they were paralyzing me.

"Maya…I have to go." I said, rushing out the door, heading to Molly's house.

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><p>"Molly? It's Chase." I said, walking into her house, which had her light on.<p>

Molly was asleep, resting on her bed peacefully.

I put the thermos on the table next to her bed, and I quietly sat down against the hard wall.

As I am not at all attentive, I ended up sitting on a book. I looked at the strange book, a plain blue book with one of those ribbons that people use to keep track of where they are. I opened the book to where the ribbon was and flipped the page.

"**The stupid thing about me right now is that I'm still afraid to talk. It has been about 2 years since I escaped, but I can't find the will to speak. I feel like I've failed everyone, not being able to truly open up to a person, even though I am surrounded by kind caring people. **

**Those red eyes, the reason I can't talk…they still haunt me. They still appear vividly in my dreams, I can't escape them. I-"**

I snapped the book shut, not believing what I'd just done. I had just read Molly's diary! I had just read her personal thoughts!

Though I felt horrible for reading something so personal, I knew that those two paragraphs had answered some questions. Why she ran away from Julius that one day: he has red eyes. And someone's red eyes had turned her mute. I turned back to see Molly's face, twisted in pain from a nightmare. I had questions, which needed to be answered by the writer herself.

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><p><strong>Molly's POV<strong>

I woke up to face Chase's breathtaking eyes. I just stared at his beautiful eyes, until I realized that the owner of those eyes was in my house.

I nearly fell out of my bed. _"Chase?" _I wrote on my board. _"What are you doing here?"_

He laughed sarcastically, a strange light in his eyes. "I came to take care of you, of course."

But as quickly as the look had come, the look vanished, and was replaced by a solemn look. "Molly, I'm sorry, but I read this." Chase held up my diary. My eyes widened in fury.

"And I need some questions answered."

My look of fury froze, because now he knew my secret, and I looked up at Chase. I then burst into tears for no reason.

"W-What's wrong?" he said, surprised at my sudden outburst.

I couldn't take it anymore. _5 years. _I reminded myself. _No one in this world has known about my secret 5 year terror. It's time that someone knew._

I took a deep breath, and with shaking hands, I wrote down my story.

"_At first, I lived a happy life. Two happy parents and I was their only child. One day, when I was about 15, I was walking across the street with my dad at night, when a drunk driver raced towards me. As I was a deer caught in headlights, my father quickly reacted and pushed me out of the way, and was hit himself. I managed to get the paramedics, but he died the next morning._

_My distraught mother was so depressed at my father's death, she always took it out on me. She hit me, telling me that it was my fault that my dad died. She said so many mean and hateful things to me, the memories of her red eyes still haunt me today. Whenever I would open my mouth, I was beaten, because I sounded too much like my father. This went on for three years, until I turned eighteen. By then, I was so afraid of saying anything to anyone, I had become mute, and closed up inside. I wandered on the mainland in hiding for a year, until I found the brochure for Waffle Island."_

I finished, sighing in relief that I was able to discuss the heavy burden that had been troubling me for the past 5 years.

Chase just stared at me, at a loss for words. His jaw was open, and his eyes were the size of basketballs.

"I'm so…I'm sorry, I don't know what to say…I hope this will do." He pulled me into a hug, a meaningful hug that I could tell have a mixture of emotions within them. In his embrace I once again started to cry.

He looked at me with his violet eyes, which were still sarcastic. "I guess I should have known that you would be trouble from the moment I shook you, huh?"

I laughed, and hugged him again.

Ever since then, Chase has been helping me slowly get over my traumatic experience. At my request, I have him help me instead of a doctor. We've gotten pretty far, except I'm still not able to talk.

At any rate, I'm just happy to have him. My fears of my mother have been minimized, healed by another.

In fact, when I close my eyes to sleep, I don't see red ones anymore.

Instead, I dream of sweet, sarcastic violet ones.

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><p><strong>(1) LOL, he is wayyyy OOC XD<strong>

**(2) What Molly said is true. IF they have retrieved the ability to laugh.**

**(3) I know this conflicts with the whole "red eyes", but go along with it! :P**

**(4****) Okay, I did this so you could assume that they've gotten closer. In other words, I'm lazy. XD**

**Didja like it? ;) Again, I worked pretty hard on this, and it would mean a lot if you reviewed! You could even just say "Nice job!" or something. I accept anonymous reviews too. **

**Thanks for Reading! I hope you enjoyed! :)**

**~Fanfiction Ninja~**


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